On the night the locals came to show respect for what Chris Paul has done for the Hornets and the city of New Orleans, the Clippers spent much of their energy trying to dispel rumors that there is tension inside the locker room because Coach Vinny Del Negro has lost the team. After a humiliating 97-90 loss to the Hornets on Thursday night, the players all claimed they supported Del Negro despite the team's losing all three games on this back-to-back-to-back trip that has produced more questions than answers.

It became apparent in the third quarter Monday night that Blake Griffin was going to dish out the punishment this time against the Hornets, and that he hadn't forgotten about the hard foul by New Orleans forward Jason Smith last week that knocked the Clippers' All-Star forward to the floor. Griffin's actions showed that the Clippers' 97-85 victory over the Hornets at Staples Center was more than just revenge against a New Orleans team that four days earlier had handed them a third consecutive loss to end a three-game trip.

This late in the season, this far into March, the Lakers continue to give reasons to scrap championship-parade plans. The runaway leaders in the Western Conference on Monday tossed another clunker onto a growing pile of them this month, falling to New Orleans, a team that was officially eliminated from playoff contention last week, in another uninspiring effort. Chris Paul and Darren Collison ran circles around the Lakers in a 108-100 Hornets victory at New Orleans Arena, leading to a seething outburst from Kobe Bryant, who punched a chair on the bench in the final minute and was still simmering half an hour later in a postgame interview that lasted all of 42 seconds.

at Orlando 123, New Orleans 117: Vince Carter had a season-high 48 points, 34 in the second half, when the Magic rallied from a 17-point deficit. Orlando has won nine of 11; the Hornets have lost four of five. Dallas 127, at Golden State 117: Jason Terry scored 36 points, Josh Howard had 25 and Drew Gooden added 24 for the Mavericks. at Lakers 101, San Antonio 89 -- associated press

Even on days they're not playing, nothing's easy for the Lakers right now. They cut practice short and hustled from their El Segundo training facility to Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, hoping to get their charter flight off the ground and pointed toward New Orleans before air space became log-jammed as a result of President Obama's arrival. The Lakers were successful in their flight plan, and their followers are hoping for more in an all-even first-round playoff series that resumes Friday in New Orleans.

Lakers 103, Hornets 87 (final) On the night when Kobe Bryant eclipsed the 30,000-point milestone, the Lakers broke open a close game with a strong second half. Playing on the second night of back-to-back road games, the Lakers took control with a 30-16 third-quarter effort while holding off every fourth-quarter run from the Hornets. Ryan Anderson was the game's leading scorer with 31 points but it wasn't nearly enough. Bryant finished with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, but it was Dwight Howard's defense that changed the game.

NEW ORLEANS — Chris Paul played for the first time in 25 games, and Marcus Thornton scored 28 points to help the Hornets to a 115-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Returning from a left knee injury, Paul started but was limited to 21 minutes and had 11 points. He helped New Orleans pull away in the fourth quarter, but rookie Darren Collison ran the offense when the Hornets had a remarkable run of 23 straight points from late in the second quarter until early in the third to take the lead for good.

Lakers Tonight AT NEW ORLEANS Time: 5 PDT. On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 710; 1330. Where: New Orleans Arena. Records: Lakers 54-19; Hornets 34-40. Record vs. Hornets: 2-0. Update: The Hornets have lost five of their last six games, their lone victory a 115-99 decision over Dallas. The Lakers defeated the Hornets in November without Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, 104-88, and in December, 110-99, with Bynum scoring 21 points. —Mike Bresnahan